Random Is My Life
by poorasdirt
Summary: Yusuke may have had his adventure, but Keiko has her secrets. A random collection of drabbles sewn together to make something interesting.
1. Alcoholic

**poorasdirt**: Okay this is a rather strange drabble fic. Basically I found this random word generator online and got a few randomly generated words. I took a concept and ran with it.

There will be crossovers!

**IMPORTANT**: Also if you happen to see an element or two from other fanfics in this. It's **_NOT_** because I blatantly ripped them off. I respect every writer on this site and admire what each and everyone of us writers are doing. Take it as a high form of flattery that their ideas and concepts have lodged themselves in my mind enough that they spew forth into this. **NOTE**: If you are an originator of a concept or idea that wishes I remove them from this please contact me and I shall do so immediately!

That said, this is basically a random test of my creativity. It started as a vague idea and with one word I have tried to give it direction.

**Disclaimer**: I own only a few original characters and various ideas that have not been previously put onto paper. Everything else belongs to other equally creative and well respected people who are willing to share their ideas with us.

**ENJOY!**

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Alcoholic

"I'm telling you he is. It's the funniest thing ever."

"I still don't believe you."

"Now Karasu, you have to take into account that it wouldn't take that long, especially with how much body mass he has."

Keiko raised an eyebrow as she stood still. She had paused in her attempt to sort through her mail on the way to the kitchen. Really it was a letter addressed to her from her aunt that had made her pause. Otherwise she wouldn't have bothered with what the three youkai living with her were up to.

Slowly her brown eyes took in the scene in front of her. Bui was sitting in the large recliner she got so he had a comfortable seat in the living room. Karasu was lounging on the couch, looking like some over grown cat. The third and final youkai, Kuronue, was sprawled out in a rather undignified position on the loveseat.

Judging from the bowl of popcorn cornels and empty glasses on the table, she figured they had sat down to watch a movie. She didn't mind since it was one of the least destructive things they've done in a while, ever since Yusuke and his friends found out who exactly her roommates were. The distinct lack of a certain red haired fox meant the chances of a brawl in the living room were fairly low as well. So like they had done a few months ago, the three youkai obviously helped themselves to her rather extensive collection of movies.

"Well yea, the guy was almost seven foot, but not exactly bulky." Kuronue said thoughtfully as he tapped a claw against his chin.

"Yet he was a master thief. Somehow I doubt you two had only a few parties. It would have built up his tolerance." Karasu said dully his eyes on Kuronue.

"He does have a point there, especially with how old he is." Bui said with a sigh before turning to Kuronue. "How do you explain that?"

"While I admit he did gain more tolerance over time, it wasn't much." Kuronue said with a chuckle.

"Probably because he didn't drink past his limit very often, Kurama doesn't strike me as the type." Keiko said easily putting the pieces of the conversation together. It helped that she spotted the case of Beerfest sitting on the table. She mentally smirked when all three youkai jumped.

"Well there is that." Kuronue said after the three recovered. "When did you get there, Keiko-chan?"

"Around the time of, 'I'm telling you he is'." Keiko said slipping the envelope of her aunt's letter back into the stack in her hand. "Do I want to know why you three are discussing Kurama's tolerance to alcohol?"

"We were watching this movie. Kuronue said Kurama would be under the table five minutes in with how much alcohol they were drinking." Bui said motioning to the case on the table.

"Ah," Keiko said before turning to Kuronue with a raised eyebrow. "He'd really be under the table?"

"Oh yes, the guy is a great thief but a cheap date. He usually would only have one bottle of sake while we partied. Otherwise he made sure things didn't get too rowdy. It took only a little more to get him completely wasted." Kuronue said with a grin.

"Do you think he'd last against you Keiko-san?" Karasu said a smirk in his voice making Keiko roll her eyes.

"No, he'd probably be suffering from alcohol poisoning by the time I got drunk." Keiko said with a sigh as she went to put down the mail.

"Now _that_, I doubt." Kuronue said with a snort.

"It's true. If you want you can talk to Shizuru and Atsuko about it, they've only seen me get drunk once. All the other times they hadn't staid sober or conscious enough to keep me drinking." Keiko said as she walked back into the living room.

"Once? But they can both out drink almost every one of Kurama's friends." Kuronue said in awe as she rolled her eyes.

"Yes, once, mostly because by the time Atsuko was passing out Shizuru showed up with more vodka." Keiko said with a sigh as she pushed Kuronue's legs off of the loveseat enough for her to sit down.

"You were drinking vodka?" Bui said his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

"Vodka, tequila, whiskey, and a few beers, but Atsuko and Shizuru drank most of the beers. They both get hangovers if they drink hard liquor." Keiko said with a shrug getting a whistle from Karasu.

"I'd never peg you as the type to have such a high tolerance to alcohol." Karasu said eyeing her curiously.

"Alcoholism runs in my mother's side of the family, she used to joke that I was born with a shot of vodka in my blood. It doesn't help that whenever we had a family reunion, my uncle would spike all the drinks." Keiko said rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I'm kind of glad I'm no longer obligated to go to those. I really don't want to see my grandmother stripping because she got too drunk."

"Yea, that would be traumatizing." Kuronue said with a chuckle.

"You have no idea." Keiko said giving Kuronue a dry look.

"But back to the topic at hand," Karasu said drawing attention to him. "How can you prove he doesn't have a high tolerance to alcohol?"

"Well that's easy," Keiko said with a grin. "We can get him drunk!"

"That won't be easy." Kuronue said with a snort. "He's pretty stingy when it comes to anything remotely alcoholic. If he so much as smells a whiff of it he gets all suspicious."

"And why would that be?" Bui said eyeing Kuronue curiously. The bat gave a shaky laugh as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, I used to try to spike his drinks. So, if I'm anywhere near he always checks to make sure his drinks are clean." Kuronue said making Keiko tilt her head.

"Then we'll just have to outfox the fox." Keiko said a calculating gleam entering her eyes. The three males shifted slightly as they shared nervous looks. They didn't like that gleam in her eyes, it always spelled trouble.

A few days later found Keiko sitting on the porch of Genkai's temple. A smirk was playing on her lips as she peered over the rim of her tea cup. Oh, Kurama had indeed been a little suspicious with Kuronue around, but it wasn't the bat the fox had to worry about.

Her eyes slid over to the others within the temple. Already the ones with a low tolerance were showing the effects of the alcohol she slipped into the tea. It was tricky to slip sake into warm tea after all, but she learned her mother's tricks well. Now everyone drinking tea in the temple was slowly and surely falling under the spell of the alcohol.

Kurama, Genkai, Yukina, Botan, and she had been drinking tea for a while now. Enough for Botan to be less bubbly and more sedate, Yukina was giggling over nothing, and Genkai was contently smiling into her cup. Kurama on the other hand was flushed and his speech was a little bit slurred. The greatest thing was only Karasu, Kuronue, and Bui were aware anything was different with the tea.

By the time the others had started drinking the tea, Keiko was practically grinning. Of course it would be at that moment Shizuru would shoot her a knowing look. Keiko simply winked at the older woman a smirk not quite leaving her lips. The fact that Shizuru started to chuckle seemed to be missed by all those present, except for Keiko.

"Kurama, are you okay? You look a little," Shizuru said but paused to think, "drunk."

"I'm fine." Kurama slurred slightly catching the attention of Yusuke.

The spirit detective blinked a few times, but even he was starting to feel slightly tipsy. His brow furrowed before he looked down into his tea cup like it had all the answers in the universe. Suddenly he snorted and looked up with a grin.

"Hey guys, let's have a few drinks!" Yusuke said jumping up to raid the kitchen for Genkai's stash of alcohol.

It didn't take long after that for Kurama to be extremely wasted. The sight of the drunken fox was so hilarious it brought Yukina to tears just from laughter. Even Hiei got a good laugh out of the whole event. In the meantime Keiko simply sat off to the side, though she changed locations to be next to Bui, calmly drinking tea with a content smile on her face.

"What do you know? He was right." Keiko said to the blue haired youkai by her side who snorted.

"He'll want an explanation when we get home you know." Bui said as he took a sip of sake.

"Yes, but it's a trade secret." Keiko said with a smirk. In the end Kuronue didn't find out how she pulled it off. But everyone did get a laugh when Kurama showed up suffering from a major hangover the next day. The fox swore vengeance on the person responsible. The trio of demons also swore never to tell the fox just who outfoxed him.

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YAY! So it begins. Please tell me what you think and bare in mind things may change direction when you least expect it.

THANK YOU! REVIEW!


	2. Hate

poorasdirt: I'm thinking I'll update this every Monday. In the meantime the experiment continues.

ENJOY!

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Hate

Keiko tilted her head as she lounged on the loveseat of her living room. Her head was pounding from a headache that only Yusuke could induce. Not for the first time she wondered if it was a very bad idea to let her fiancé know three very male demons were staying at her house.

Although the three gave their word on whatever honor they had that they were completely respectable when dealing with Keiko. But that was only because Keiko would have castrated them if they had tried anything dishonorable. Kuronue almost learned the hard way when he toed the line shortly after regaining his body.

Nevertheless Keiko rubbed her temples for what seemed to be the thousandth time that day. She honestly felt like castrating her fiancé. She never really got what his problem was. Most of the time he ignored her unless she forced herself to be in his face, but as soon as another guy so much as looked at her he was an overbearing jealous belligerent menace.

"Oh! What's this? What's wrong Keiko-san?"

"Not now Karasu, I'm this close to stabbing someone." Keiko said holding up her hand to indicate barely an inch of space with her fingers.

"Now, now, I'm just inquiring as to why you look like someone ran you over." Karasu said as she felt him sit down on the arm of the loveseat.

"Nice to know I'm the epitome of beauty then." Keiko said sarcasm dripping from every word.

"You always have been." Karasu said with a chuckle.

"You're not going to leave me alone until I tell you huh?" Keiko said peering up at the demon hovering near her feet.

"Until you, tell him what, Keiko-chan?"

Keiko groaned slightly as she tried to suffocate herself with the pillow that had been behind her head. She could still hear Karasu chuckling though, as well as the steps of a certain curious bat moving further into the room. Some days she wondered how sane she was to have these three as housemates.

"Keiko-san is upset about something but refuses to divulge the details to me. Perhaps you will have better luck in persuading her to speak, Kuronue." Karasu said even as Keiko tried to smother herself with the pillow.

"Well she doesn't smell like it's that time of month again." Kuronue's eyes widened before he swiftly ducked under the flying pillow. "Hey, don't be violent with me. I didn't do anything to upset you yet."

"Yet," Keiko said sending a glare in the direction of the former thief.

"Okay, just tell us why you're upset so we can fix it. That way you will be happy and we won't be walking on eggshells around you. You're pretty scary when angry after all." Kuronue said sitting on the coffee table to be closer to Keiko. He however put himself out of her reach just in case, he knew despite being a human Keiko could cause damage if she wanted to.

"It's really nothing, I just have a migraine." Keiko said in defeat rubbing her temples.

"And what caused this?" Karasu said crossing his arms to peer down at the master of the house. After all they all lived by her rules.

"Yusuke," Keiko said with a slightly pained moan. The two demons shared a knowing look before turning back to their friend.

"What did the idiot do this time?" Kuronue said dully. He often wondered why the two were together in the first place. They didn't mesh as well as most people thought they should.

"Honestly I think he saw some guy eyeing me while I was eating lunch. One moment I'm happily alone with some of my favorite food, next I have Yusuke hovering over me asking me what I'm doing." Keiko said with a sigh. "It went on from there. Same argument, same results, he's still upset that you three are living here but won't even begin to find a solution for the problem. I even suggested that I move in with him and let you guys rent this place. That was shot down with a negative before it even left my mouth."

"Yea, we've seen one of those fights before. He always ends up unconscious at your feet or with a nice new black eye when you finally snap." Karasu said with a chuckle. "I'm beginning to wonder if he really is masochistic."

"Actually that would explain some things if he was." Kuronue said grinning when he got a weak chuckle from the human female of the group. "So are you moving out? Or are we?"

"No one is going anywhere at the moment that I'm aware of." Keiko said giving him a confused look. "Unless, you guys are planning on leaving."

"Nah, I wouldn't get a better chance of bugging my good friend Kurama if I high tailed it out of here." Kuronue said with a grin.

"Besides, Urameshi-san hasn't challenged us yet about living here. Until he does, what you say goes." Karasu said making Keiko roll her eyes.

"Yea, well until that happens I get to contemplate just how thin the line is between love and hate." Keiko said falling back into her previous position of staring at the ceiling.

"You actually hate him?" Kuronue said sounding slightly shocked. His shock became a sheepish embarrassment when he received a dull rather condescending look from his female friend.

"Hate is a strong word to use." Keiko said before sighing. "I don't know. Some days I just dislike him more than I like him. So far he hasn't crossed the line enough for me to actually want to truly hurt him, so no. I don't hate him."

"Yet," Kuronue said getting a curious look from Karasu and Keiko. "What? He can still mess up enough that you'll hate him. Or at least do something that even you won't forgive for a very long time. He is still very young, especially in hanyou terms."

"You know most of the time I forget you are older than Bui and I, then there are moments like this." Karasu said getting a glare from the bat. "He's right though, unlike Urameshi-san you have a clear code of honor. One Bui, myself, and even Kuronue respect. The moment he does something against your honor, you cannot forgive readily, will be the moment you walk away from him."

Keiko lay in silence as she contemplated those words carefully. For what they were worth both Kuronue and Karasu did offer good advice from time to time. Sighing she sat up. "Yea, and I think I know what he'd do if he ever crossed the line."

"And what would that be?" Karasu asked getting a rather tired chuckle.

"You don't have to worry about it. It really is something personal. But if he does, trust me, you will probably find out rather quickly with how angry it will make me." Keiko said standing up.

"You'll kill him?"

"Don't sound so hopeful. This is the Spirit Detective we're talking about." Kuronue said in a rather scolding tone.

"No, probably won't kill him. I probably won't even touch him. I do know I'll go on a nice long walk though, and Kami have mercy if someone says anything to upset me." Keiko said walking out of the room.

"Something tells me she's not been as pissed off by the idiot as we've thought she's been." Kuronue said getting a nod from the other youkai.

"I just hope for her sake he doesn't cross the line. She would be upset for a very long time if that happened." Karasu said getting a grin from Kuronue. "What?"

"You almost sounded like you cared. Where's that ruthless bloodthirsty terrorist bomber now?" Kuronue said only to yelp and dodge as a rather familiar bomb went off next to him.

"You were saying?"

"Right, figures you'd be a bitch still."

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YAY! I'm not completely sure if the rating should stay the same or go up. Anyway until next Monday!

REVIEW!


	3. Mandatory

Mandatory

Keiko blinked looking at the clock. Checking her watch, she glanced up at the clock on the wall once more. Nodding to herself she started to put away all the documents she had spread out on the kitchen table.

"Eh? What's up Keiko-chan?" Kuronue asked as he saw her stacking papers and slipping them into their respective folders.

"I have a mandatory meeting I must attend." Keiko said as she finished putting away her work.

"Mandatory meeting? But it's nearly seven o'clock at night. What meeting do you have to attend that takes place after work hours?" Kuronue said glancing at the clock for conformation.

"A mandatory one of course, I told you that." Keiko said making her way out of the kitchen, well trying to. Kuronue positioned himself in the doorway, with his hands firmly on his hips, a black eyebrow raised.

"That doesn't explain anything." Kuronue said pointedly, moving to block her path when she moved to slip around him.

"It's nothing really Kuronue. Just something I do every Friday." Keiko said rolling her eyes with a smirk on her face. "You'd have known that earlier if you guys weren't so keen on exploring while you were ghosts."

"Yea well there's not much you can do when you're a spirit. Just wander around, seeing the sites, being ignored by the living, it's a very entertaining state to be in." Kuronue said rolling his own eyes at Keiko who snickered.

"I'm sure you found ways to alleviate your boredom. Especially after the three of you followed me to Genkai's temple and you crossed Kurama's path." Keiko said as she managed to slip around the distracted youkai.

"Well true, it was rather fun to see what my old buddy had been up to since I died. I was rather surprised he had a human family though." Kuronue said looking off into space thoughtfully for a few seconds. That was all the time Keiko needed to slip up stairs and into her room.

Putting away her business folders, she turned to her closet. Smiling she pulled out a pair of jeans, a simple t-shirt, and her favorite brown jacket. Changing out of the business suit she was wearing, Keiko picked up two belts from the back of her vanity chair and slipped them on. That done she happily exited her room and locked the door.

By the time she got down the stairs Kuronue was out of his thoughtful trance and was raising an eyebrow at her change of clothes. "So it's not a business meeting you're going to."

"No, I never said it was." Keiko said with a smile. "This happens to be a social meeting but still mandatory."

"That so?" Kuronue said but followed her as she made her way to the front door. "What kind of social meeting is this?"

"A few old friends getting together, usually it wouldn't be important but this time it is." Keiko said getting a pout from Kuronue.

"Bui! Keiko-chan is being vague and not answering my questions clearly!" Kuronue said and Keiko was surprised to see the blue haired giant of a youkai leaning in the doorframe of the living room.

"Perhaps you are not asking the right questions." Bui said shrugging at the bat.

"What would be a right question then?" Kuronue said with his hands on his hips.

"Well, Keiko-san, who are the friends you are going to see?" Bui said turning his attention to the woman of the house.

"A few old friends I met while I was still in middle school. They used to hang out at the ramen shop a lot and when I helped out my parents I'd see them." Keiko said with a grin as she stood up from having put on her sneakers.

"I see. What exactly do you guys do every Friday?" Bui said now sounding curious.

"Play cards, where do you think I get all that extra money from?" Keiko said getting a snort from Kuronue.

"When will you be back?" Bui asked this time sounded more assured but still curious.

"I'll be back at midnight at the latest. I'd stay out later but I have to be ready to go eat lunch with a guy tomorrow." Keiko said rolling her eyes.

"You're going out to lunch tomorrow? I don't think it's with Yusuke because he's on a mission in Makai." Bui said his brows furrowing in confusion.

"That is strictly for business. I get to be bored out of my mind answering questions that I've answered a hundred different ways the last two times we've met. You'd think by now he'd get it through his skull what I'm telling him but some men are just too headstrong to think a woman has any brains what so ever." Keiko said trailing off to grumble about the failings of most males, which Bui and Kuronue politely ignored.

"Well have fun and don't stay out too late. Perhaps next time we can go with you to meet your other friends. I wasn't aware you had more friends outside of Yusuke's group." Bui said getting a nod from Keiko who smiled.

"Yea, well I never really hang out with them. I tend to spend more time with Shizuru even when we do, unless Yukina-chan is there with the guys. Otherwise if I have time, on Sundays I go visit the temple to see Yukina-chan." Keiko said still grinning. "Don't destroy the house while I'm gone!"

Bui and Kuronue watched the door close before Kuronue turned to Bui accusingly. "And that solves things how?"

"Next time she goes to play cards with her friends, we get to tag along if nothing is happening. This way we get to meet them and see what she's up to without being obvious." Bui said making Kuronue raise an eyebrow.

"True, but what if they're human? The last time I checked I still had wings." Kuronue said getting a chuckle from Bui.

"I know you are well aware of how to disguise your heritage. Unless Keiko-san says otherwise we'll pretend to be human." Bui said getting a sigh and nod from Kuronue.

"Fine, but some days I'm surprised how much goes on in the life of Keiko-chan that Kurama and his friends don't know about." Kuronue said with a frown. "Maybe I should bring it up with him. He does consider her in a good light. Even Hiei-kun thinks highly of her, those two at least will want to know that there is a lot more to Keiko-chan than everyone thinks."

"How about after we meet these friends of hers? But I agree, at first glance she does seem to be nothing special. Sometimes I think we know very little about who she truly is." Bui said with a frown.

"Then it's decided! We will get to know Keiko-chan better! That way we can be better friends for her." Kuronue said getting a chuckle from Bui.

"I don't see anything wrong with that. I'll tell Karasu about it when he comes home." Bui said getting a raised eyebrow from Kuronue.

"Where did our bloodthirsty terrorist bomber go anyway?" Kuronue said giving Bui a curious look.

"He had a mandatory meeting with Inari-sama." Bui said with a grin making Kuronue laugh.

"Guess Keiko-chan isn't the only one who has obligations tonight." Kuronue said shaking his head. "Let's see if Keiko-chan picked up any new movies recently."

"I'm not sure she did, but I'm sure we can find something to watch until she gets home." Bui said with a smile. The two youkai moved calmly into the living room, both silently agreeing that they would wait for their friend to get home safely. After all, they were a little obligated to watching over her, especially since she was the reason they were alive again.


	4. Robot

Robot

Keiko slipped into the store with a smile on her face. Her favorite cousin's birthday was coming up and like clockwork Keiko found herself searching for a good birthday present. Ever since the two of them were young Keiko made sure to send the other girl a gift.

It was for this reason she found herself in the flamboyant aisles of a toy store. Alice Blue-Eyes, as she called her cousin, was a few years younger than Keiko herself. But that didn't stop Keiko from scouring the baby section for a fun gag gift to give the soon to be seventeen year old. However the toddler section yielded nothing interesting, so she went on to the kiddy section.

It was as she was passing through a section dedicated to building blocks, science, and cheap electronics that she spotted them. She actually had to backtrack a few steps so they were firmly in her field of vision. She blinked a few times before a slow sly smile worked its way onto her lips. Looking around she headed for the front of the store to get a basket.

As she put several boxes into the basket she reminded herself why she was there. Frowning suddenly she went back to searching out the perfect gift for Alice Blue-Eyes. It didn't take long for a maniac smile to light up her face though. She found the perfect thing.

When she got back to the house she quickly rushed up to her room. Most of the bags she was carrying were set aside as she fished out her cousin's present. Once finding the right box she rushed out of the room, making sure to lock it on the way out, and bounced down the stairs.

"Karasu! Just the demon I wanted to see!" Keiko said flopping down in the empty chair at the dining table.

"Do I want to know why you are channeling Kuronue, Keiko-san?" Karasu asked getting a snort from the aforementioned bat.

"I need your voice." Keiko said practically bouncing in her seat.

"My voice?" Karasu said raising an eyebrow at her. Keiko just nodded enthusiastically.

"Of the three of you guys, you have the deepest voice." Keiko said her grin not diminishing since she sat down.

"And what exactly do you need my voice for?" Karasu said turning his full attention to Keiko. He was mildly curious what the young woman was up to.

"This!" Keiko said raising the plastic box holding her cousin's gift up to his face. "I'm going to write down a few lines for you to say, and then I'll record them on it."

"Is that all?" Kuronue said with a smile as he sat down with the snack he was making.

"Oh, I'm sending it to my cousin for her birthday present." Keiko said still holding the package up for Karasu who was reading the front.

"And you want to send her Karasu's voice?" Kuronue said with a raised eyebrow.

"Well he has the deepest voice of all the guys I know so he's the one I'll record." Keiko said with a shrug.

"Alright," Karasu said with a smirk. It was relatively harmless after all.

"Great! Oh, and Kuronue? How difficult do you think it'll be to sneak into Kurama's room?" Keiko said getting a raised eyebrow from Kuronue.

"That depends on the reason I suppose." Kuronue said making Keiko tilt her head thoughtfully. "Why?"

"It's a surprise." Keiko said with a grin, a calculating gleam entering her eyes. The two demons shared a look wondering what their friend was up to now.

Two days later Keiko bounded down the steps early in the morning. She didn't even try to be quiet about her decent, even if the sun wasn't up yet. She almost skipped into the living room where she quickly attached her laptop to the TV.

She sashayed into the kitchen. She put on some tea and started to get some breakfast together. She was in such a good mood she was whistling to herself. It didn't take her long before she was setting down her breakfast and picked up the remote to turn on the TV.

"Keiko-san, I'll have you know it's only a few minutes before dawn." Bui said walking in to flop down on the recliner.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Keiko said pausing in her breakfast to look at Bui.

"It's a little hard to sleep through someone pounding down the stairs, especially if you have sensitive hearing." Kuronue said wandering into the living room. The bat yawned as he sat down on the loveseat.

"You can say that again." Karasu said as he rubbed one of his eyes. "Why are you up Keiko-san?"

"Oh! I want to watch the show." Keiko said motioning to the TV. On the screen there were four equal sized boxes, and a bedroom depicted in three of the boxes but one was suspiciously black. The three youkai blinked at the obvious surveillance set up on the TV.

"Hey, that's Kurama's room." Kuronue said noticing the redhead in bed sleeping.

"And Hiei-san is sleeping in the window." Keiko said with a smile.

"Do we want to know?" Karasu asked looking at the screen to take in all the details he could.

"Maybe, there's breakfast in the kitchen if you want some." Keiko said before looking at her wrist watch. "But the show starts in ten minutes so if you want to watch you should get back quickly."

The three youkai looked at each other before nodding. Silently and quickly the three got their breakfasts and sat down. The four got comfortable and waited. They didn't have to wait long.

The first noticeable difference was when the clock struck the hour. The sudden and loud blaring sound of a fog horn made all three boys on the screen jump out of bed. The four observers grinned seeing Hiei fall off his perch into the room. It was then that the music started.

Keiko bit back a giggle as Shout by the Isley Brothers started to blare into the rooms. She was happy to see the animatronic flowers and mushrooms were doing just as they were programmed to do. In this case they were singing the song while "dancing" to the beat.

The three demons in the room with her were in hysterics, even as Kurama was the first to recover somewhat. Unfortunately for the fox, sleep deprived as he was, he missed the trip wire carefully placed next to his bed. Kuronue was howling when a bucket of liquid fell onto the redhead.

The next obstacle Kurama faced was an actual wire placed to trip him. He hadn't stood a chance really with how disoriented he was. The fox found himself falling into a pile of glitter placed not far from his bed. Once he managed to get up, he was covered almost completely from head to toe with the sparkly flakes.

Across the room Hiei wasn't fair much better. The fire apparition had unknowingly fallen into a bucket of sticky goop. As the midget was pulling himself from the substance his hand caught a rope, and instead of helping him from his predicament, Hiei found himself covered in downy feathers. The apparition was cursing as he managed to get out of the small tub. But he ended up slipping on a strategically placed plastic sheet covered in oil. Kurama barely dodged the sliding apparition as Hiei slid into the bedroom door, ending up stuck to the wood.

Meanwhile in another box Yusuke wasn't fairing much better. The spirit detective had soon found himself hanging upside down, covered in something similar to molasses, and a strange white powder. It wasn't long after he started wiping off the substance that he realized he was covered in itching powder. The young man was soon trying not only to get down from where he was hanging, but he was itching any place he could reach as well. The tired young man was also cursing up a storm.

In his room, Kuwabara was currently stuck to the floor where he ended up sprawled out on. Several dozen sticky papers kept him in place as he struggled to get free. He was also covered in a hot pink powder, was sneezing and cursing up a storm, and was soon doused with a bucket of ice water.

All the while in the background the animatronics happily sang and danced to their song.

Keiko's grin stretched across her face and her eyes were dancing in amusement. "So? What do you think?"

"Are you recording this?" Kuronue said as he gasped for air.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Keiko asked tilting her head at the bat.

"You know we should wake up like this more often. This is better than coffee." Karasu said between his chuckles while Bui just grinned.

"Some days I forget how devious you are Keiko-san." Bui said shaking his head. "What exactly possessed you to do this?"

"I was in a good mood and trying to think of a good present for my cousin. She thinks I have a twisted sense of humor most of the time so she usually expects me to get some sort of weird gift for her. I just came across those robots while I at the toy store." Keiko said with a grin before taking a sip of her tea.

"Heh, if this is what you do in a good mood I think you should stay in one. This is highly entertaining." Karasu said still chuckling while Kuronue was clutching his sides from laughing too much.

"If you say so," Keiko said as she turned back to the screen to see what the group was doing.

Eventually it took the four fighters an hour to finally get out of their predicaments. Kurama would have managed to get out of the chaos sooner, had he not tripped a net rigged up in his room. Not long after they got free the four started to wash up, where they found their shampoo had hair dye in it as well. Needless to say the four were thoroughly and utterly pranked. They also had no clue whatsoever as to who was the culprit for their early morning wake up call. Keiko's boys decided it best not to divulge what she had done for her safety after all.

A week later in the city of Domino, a blue eyed teen felt her eyebrow twitch. She knew her cousin had a rather twisted sense of humor but this time Keiko had out done herself. With another sigh Anzu Mazaki looked at the alarm clock sent by her cousin. It was a toy replica of the Blue Eyes White Dragon holding a digital clock. The kicker came when the alarm went off.

"Good morning Alice." The alarm clock purred in a sinfully deep male voice. Her friends who threw her the party all gave her a strange look.

"My cousin K-chan," she began to explain. "She's called me Alice Blue-Eyes for as long as I can remember."

Anzu said nothing about how Keiko knew the teen respected Seto Kaiba. She also omitted the fact that Keiko knew exactly what Anzu liked in a guy. Anzu didn't know if she wanted to hug or strangle her cousin as she carefully put the alarm clock off to the side. Somehow she knew that voice would be torturing her for days. It was a pity Keiko hadn't tracked down Seto to do the recording though.


	5. Blink

**poorasdirt**: Yay, I have officially gotten into the groove of updating this on Mondays. I haven't given up my other stories but they're slow going at the moment. For some reason fight scenes and me still have problems. Anyway for those of you who are wondering this should add some explaination as to why Keiko is living with the boys.

**Disclaimer**: In the first chapter.

ENJOY!

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Blink

Keiko sat wearing a black dress. She looked down at her black flats calmly. Around her well-wishers and family were talking but she didn't hear them. She had just finished speaking with the authorities investigating the case but still couldn't wrap her head around the fact it had happened.

Brushing some of her short brown hair behind her ear she looked up. Despite speaking lowly most of the attendees were discussing business rather than her parents. She knew they only came because they felt some sort of social obligation, not because anyone really was there to mourn her mother and father.

Biting her lip she stood up. She had tried to call Alice Blue-Eyes but the younger girl hadn't picked up her phone. After the fourth attempt Keiko had given up. She contemplated calling Shizuru, but really Keiko didn't feel like talking with anyone even vaguely associated with Yusuke. It just reminded her that he wasn't there.

Silently she moved through the crowd in a daze. She could easily see people around her but she wouldn't remember their faces even if someone asked. She felt trapped in a sea of faceless statues quietly discussing their own problems and lives. It was suffocating.

She wasn't even aware she had climbed the stairs to her room until she found herself standing in front of her closet. Almost robotically she fished out a different set of clothes to change into. She slipped off her dress and flats leaving them were they lay. Instead she slipped on a pair of black pants, a black shirt, and some socks. She fished out two belts from her closet that fell limply off her hips when she slipped them on, acting more as decoration than their intended purpose. Next came, a pair of black fingerless gloves that were fished out of her underwear draw. The final thing she fished out of her closet was a nice form fitting brown leather jacket which she left open as it slipped over her frame.

She slipped down the stairs soon after. By the time she stopped once more she was sitting down next to the front door, tying the laces of a pair of black boots that were on her feet. She looked back once to see the mourners one last time before turning to the door. No one saw her walk out the door or even registered the front door closing softly.

Once outside Keiko began to walk in a random direction. She didn't know where she was going but figured she'd know when she got there. Looking up she paused to see the vast blue sky, the soft white clouds, and the beaming sun dancing from its high perch. She felt something sweep through her, draining everything as it went. Then she shut her eyes.

When she opened her eyes she knew something had changed drastically. For one, she was pulling herself out of a bunch of rubble. She couldn't recall what happened. As she pushed the last bits of rocks and sand from her body, she pulled herself out of the hole she found herself in.

Shaking her head she looked up. She was surprised to see an overcast sky above her. But that didn't prepare her for the shock of finding herself in a forest. The rubble and hole she had just pulled herself from was in the side of a mountain. The impression had a distinct pattern she knew was from a high velocity impact. Someone must have hit her really hard to send her that deep into the mountain side.

Looking around her she paused to stare. Directly in front of her was a line of broken trees. Thick old trees seemed to have given away as an object sailed through them. Too stunned to think much on it, she figured that was where she had come from and began to trek to wherever she had been. She passed twenty or so broken trees, all the while feeling the burn of injuries quickly disappearing as her body quickly healed her.

It didn't take her long to reach a clearing that obviously seen better days. The signs of a high powered fight were evident everywhere, from the broken trees to the deep gashes in the earth to the cracks of impact craters. She suddenly had the sinking feeling that she had indeed been in a fight. That feeling only compounded when she noticed the figure kneeling in the middle of the clearing.

The figure appeared to be a young man in his early to mid-twenties. He was rather handsome with high cheek bones; sharp almond shaped slanted amber eyes, pouty pink lips, and a rather delicate looking nose. His skin was a darkened golden color and covered well defined muscles that gave his slim body a strong look. She also noticed his pale golden almost silvery hair was quite long and pulled back in a topknot. He also wore a silvery kimono with a dark blue hakama, the sheath of two katana empty by his side. She also noticed he was bleeding in several places, was coughing up blood, and was shaking from exhaustion. He was a mess.

However he looked at her through his messy long bangs. Those eyes were sharp, focused, and patient. Despite his obvious injuries and ragged appearance, it was obvious he wasn't going to stop fighting if she attacked. She briefly wondered how long they had been fighting. But what caught her attention was the feel of his energy. He was no youkai or ningen.

"Who are you?" She said tilting her head at the man. She stood strong and ready to defend. Her eyes were fully focused on his, a sharp intelligence dancing through the brown depths. She was only slightly caught off guard when he chuckled.

"Nice to see you finally awake." He said his voice pained but still deep and smooth. He coughed then, spitting even more blood onto the ground, before he passed out.

She looked up at the sky. Though she couldn't see the sun she could easily tell it was going to be dark soon. She also could tell it was going to rain sooner rather than later. Sighing she turned back to the young man passed out not far from her. She needed answers and he really was a mess.

With few options left to her, she scanned the area looking for his missing katana. She found them not far away. One was stuck rather impressively in a tree while the other lay discarded next to a crater on the other side of the clearing. She collected them before gathering up the young man. She needed to find suitable shelter and figure out what had happened.

He woke up feeling like he had been thoroughly trampled. He didn't know when the last time he felt such pain, but he knew it had been a long time. It took only a moment for him to remember why he felt like he had been flattened. His amber eyes snapped open and scanned his surroundings.

He was laying not far from a warm fire on a thin futon. Sitting up slightly, despite the protests of his abused body, his eyes quickly found the entrance of the obvious cave he was in. Rain poured down outside the mouth of the cave in a torrent. But also near the entrance stood the girl that had caused all of his injuries, her back was turned towards him but he could tell her arms were crossed as she looked out into the sheets of water.

"How are you feeling?" She asked from her position still not looking at him.

"Like I got the shit kicked out of me, but that's to be expected." He said with a chuckle even as she turned towards him.

She walked over to sit on the other side the fire as he pulled himself up into a more comfortable sitting position. He also took time to observe her. Despite being in her mid to late teens, she was a striking figure. Her pale skin, dark brown hair, and equally dark eyes didn't set her that far apart from most Japanese girls. However there was a deep sharp intelligence in those brown depths. He also could see the fresh depth of emotional pain and depression haunting her eyes. While it was a bit disconcerting it was much better than the vacant emotionless hundred mile stare she had not too long ago.

"Which of the Kami are you?" She said then her voice cutting through the silence with cool precision.

He couldn't help but smile slightly. "You're rather smart when you're not staring off blankly."

She didn't say anything just watched him calmly.

"I am Inari." He said looking at her calmly as well. "May I ask your name?"

"Yukimura Keiko," she said before tilting her head. "Why were we fighting?"

"You don't remember?" He said surprised even as she shrugged.

"I remember going for a walk on a nice sunny day. Next thing I remember was pulling myself from rubble in the mountain side." She said looking away as if trying to remember something even as she frowned. "I recently suffered a great emotional stress. I can only think that my mind shut itself off so I could no longer suffer from my pain. What I did between those two times I will never remember clearly if at all."

"I see." He said a thoughtful frown graced his face for a few minutes before he chuckled dryly. "I'll tell you what I know then. You walked through one of my older shrines here in the north. You walked for two days through this forest before sitting under one of the trees. One of my foxes went to investigate you, but he got to close and you are surprisingly fast. He perished after moments of seemingly annoying you. More of my foxes came to defend, thinking you were a youkai in disguise, twenty fought and twenty fell. I then took it upon myself to deal with you as best as I could, but once we met I realized you not only were human but you weren't even aware of life around you. We fought for three days, I keeping you from doing more damage and you keeping me from stopping you with just your reflexes alone."

"How did I end up in the mountain side?" Keiko asked her full attention on him as he spoke.

"I used most if not the rest of my power to hit you as hard as I could. I had hoped to render you at least unconscious and thought I succeeded until you walked back into the clearing. However you were aware of the world around you and not inclined to continue the fight. I guess in my sudden relief I passed out from exhaustion and the injuries I received facing you." Inari answered with a grin.

"You were a mess." Keiko said absently before she sighed. He was only slightly shocked when she gave him a shallow bow. "Forgive me for your troubles. I was not in any state of mind."

"It is alright child, I realized within the first hour you were probably not yourself." He said pulling a cup of Sake out of the air to drink. "Just answer a few questions for me if you will."

"Very well," Keiko said with a nod.

"What emotional trauma did you face that left you so vacant?"

"My parents were murdered by youkai and ningen."

"You know of youkai?"

"Yes, my best friend is Urameshi Yusuke. He worked as the Reikai Tantei for a full year before he accessed his ancient youkai heritage. He has gone to Makai to learn how to control his powers."

"I see. I'm aware of Urameshi-chan." Inari said taking a thoughtful sip of his Sake. "Are you a shinobi?"

"What makes you ask that?"

"Some of your attacks you used, they were not regular reiki attacks. I am well aware of Kage no Kunai and the people it contains."

"Then yes, the clans of my parents hail from there. I was even born on the land, but raised in Ningenkai."

"You are surprisingly honest with these questions."

"My reason for life has died. Yusuke is precious to me but he is not within my reach even if he has asked me to wait three years for his return. Why should I lie if I have nothing to defend or lose?"

"Heh, so you are a true shinobi. I have heard of their loyalty, especially to those precious to them." Inari said peering at her over his cup. "What would you do if I demand you to work for me?"

"I would first ask why you would demand such."

"You did kill twenty of my messengers. I should at least receive compensation for that alone."

"Then I would accept your terms without question. It is a matter of honor since I was not in control of my actions when I killed them." Keiko said calmly looking him dead in the eye with an accepting but serious expression in her eyes.

"You would not demand for anything in return?"

"I have no wish for anything from you."

"What if I said I would help you bring your parents' killers to justice?" Inari said looking at her challenging as she thought it over.

"I would not need your help, even if I wanted revenge. Death is a natural process. Everything that begins will eventually end, no matter what ending that is." Keiko said calmly meeting his challenge with an ease that stunned the Kami. "I have no purpose in life Inari-sama. After I wait the three years for Yusuke's return, I will truly be without a reason to continue. I have yet to break any of the promises I've given."

"Well then, from now until your wait is over your purpose is to serve me. I have many uses for your skills. Once your Yusuke returns I will consider your debts to me paid." Inari said getting a sharp nod from Keiko.

The Kami didn't tell the girl that he was going to make sure she had a reason for life. He didn't want to see such a strong and intelligent person fade from the world if he could help it. The more generations of weak humans he had seen the more disappointed he had been in the whole race. Youkai weren't much better in his opinion, at least his kitsune were thriving. Smiling to himself as he sipped his Sake, Inari decided he would see Keiko got as much help with her depression that he could provide. After all, he knew life could change in the blink of the eye, for better or worse.

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Yea a bit sad and depressing. Anyway, let me know there are people out there reading this story. REVIEW!


	6. Sundry

Sundry

Kuronue noticed something about the girl Inari-sama asked them to advise. It was a rather odd but endearing quality the thief could appreciate. The bat didn't know if Karasu or Bui would appreciate it as much as he did but that wasn't the point. The point was Keiko was a collector.

He had suspected something along those lines shortly after they first met. He saw the way her brown eyes drifted to various objects when she walked through the bustling shopping districts they encountered. However what amused him wasn't the fact she liked to collect things. It was what she collected.

For as long as he could remember he liked to collect things himself. However his collections usually sparkled and were worth quite a bit of money. Not Keiko, she collected little things that didn't make any sense to the bat. One fine example of this habit was when she bought a small simple cat figurine when she was scoping out their latest assignment's failing store.

This cat was just one of several cats she bought while she worked the assignment. It wasn't until she got home, and Kuronue silently followed her up to her room, that he found out why. She had a rather extensive collection of inexpensive cat figurines made in an assortment of materials from clay to plastic. He also noticed the cat collection wasn't the only collection she had.

"What are these?" He asked titling his head to a line of small plastic duck like figures.

"Those are rubber ducks." Keiko said as she carefully placed her cat figures on some shelves with the rest of her collection. "A friend of mine usually gives me one every time our paths cross."

"Ah, and these?" Kuronue said motioning to the pile of small plush animals in the corner of her room. He also noticed there were a few lying on her bed as well.

"At the arcade there's a claw machine you can play. For two tokens you can try your luck retrieving a plushie from the machine." She said nodding her head at the plushies. He figured she won them all. There were other collections of things he also noticed, take her collection of toothpick umbrellas or the amusing sight of an army of Troll dolls.

"You like to collect things." He said finally as he looked over the various collections she decorated her room with.

"It's something I've done since I was a little girl. My mom used to say my room was an eclectic sundry of color." She said grabbing a book from a bookshelf that looked like it would burst it was so crowded. "This is my favorite collection though."

"Your books?" He asked floating over to her.

"No, the collection is in the book." She said with a grin as she opened the first page.

He was stunned to find she had a collection of beautifully pressed flowers and leaves in the book. Each page carefully and masterfully designed to showcase the beauty of the flora it presented. Briefly he thought Kurama could appreciate this collection do to the sheer amount of diverse plant life was carefully pressed and preserved in the book.

However he found this habit of hers to be very endearing. Even as he listened patiently to all the stories behind each of her collections, from the fact her collection of crystals came from her favorite cousin to the collection of butterfly pendants and pins her father gave her. He also approved of the fact when she spoke about her collections her face lit up with a joyous light he hadn't seen in her eyes yet. So yes, he truly approved of her habit of collecting things.

Kuronue had filed that tidbit of information into the recesses of his mind for another day. It didn't surface until a few days after he had gotten his body back. He had taken some time from bugging Kurama, and lazing around the house for Inari-sama to give him a mission to do, to go for a walk into the shopping district.

As he was passing by a store he spotted a cheap cat figurine and the memory of her little habit resurfaced. Recalling she especially liked keeping collections given to her by friends he grinned. Kuronue set off to find something to add to Keiko's collections.

"Hey Keiko-chan, here!" Kuronue said bouncing into the living room and dropping a small box into the surprised woman's lap.

"What's this?" She said opening the box all the same. Her eyebrows shot up as she pulled out a glass fairy with bat wings. "She's beautiful!"

Kuronue grinned as he saw her admiring his gift. The glass fairy was colorless with fair features but her rather impressive glass bat wings were colored black. She sat on a painted ceramic tombstone. The fairy itself looked to have long flowing hair, a simple dress, and pointy ears despite how small the figurine was. The craftsmanship was worth the rather expensive price, but Kuronue did like shiny sparkly expensive things.

"Think you can find a place in that hodgepodge colorful room of yours for her?" Kuronue said with a wink getting a grin from the woman. He was proud to see her eyes lighting up with happiness at his gift.

"I think I know the perfect place for her." She said with a grin as she stood up.

A few minutes later Kuronue was happy to see Keiko placing the fairy on a small stand next to her desk. It also didn't escape his notice his fairy sat on a rather nice circle shaped mirror. The mirror left plenty of room for the fairy to have company, and Kuronue was going to make sure he got Keiko another one. After all, he had no reservations when it came to helping further her collections. He liked collecting things too after all.


	7. Mistaking

Mistaking

Bui knew he was wrong with his first assumption concerning the human female they were assigned to help. He had thought her weak, they had all did. That was, after all, the reason they were helping her.

She also did things to avoid confrontations at all cost. He knew without a doubt Keiko didn't like fighting. She even told them that.

This led to him believing her to be weak. He didn't think she had the strength of will or the physical power to fight. Sure she could defend herself if a situation arose.

However if it came down to a fight with a demon, she usually found the quickest escape route that would work to her benefit. Despite this weakness, he respected her because she was firm in her beliefs. Her honor alone was something he could admire as well as her loyalty to those she trusted.

He was mistaken however. He could see that now. All three of them had been mistaken. Keiko wasn't weak because she didn't like to fight. She chose not to fight out of principle, because she was strong.

This revelation happened during one of their assignments from Inari-sama.

Things had been moving rather smoothly for the four as they once again dealt with some human traffickers. In fact things were going too well and that made Keiko, at least, cautious. It put him, Karasu, and Kuronue on edge as well.

The first surprise for them was when one of human traffickers cornered the group with several young women they were putting on a boat to safety.

Kuronue hadn't managed to render the human unconscious before the man raised the alarm. Of course Keiko had cursed, but Karasu and he were anticipating the fight to come. Unfortunately when the fight did come they were surprised that it wasn't just a few weak youkai that attacked.

The two took out most of the low level grunts while Kuronue and Keiko got the women on board.

Once the boat was off to safety things turned sour for the three. The low level youkai weren't the only youkai involved in the operation. Kuronue came in handy for a few of the higher A-class youkai since, despite his tendency for near death experiences, the bat was a superb fighter.

Bui could see why Kurama chose the thief to be his second in command when they were terrorizing Makai.

However, even with Kuronue's help, it wasn't long before the three demons found themselves at the disadvantage. The three were rather unceremoniously tossed back towards the dock. In fact Karasu was just about to get a sword to the chest, had a metal pole not stopped the offending weapon.

All present were surprised to see Keiko holding the pole.

Not even Kuronue heard the boat return for them. But least of all none had sense the human approach until she surprisingly stopped the attack aimed to kill the raven. The fact she even had the strength to stop an attack from an A-class youkai at all was surprising, let alone the fact she pushed the youkai back.

The cat demon slid on his feet for a few meters before regaining his footing.

Sighing, the little human stood up straight, resting the pole on her shoulder as she observed the youkai attacking them. "I don't like fighting."

"Heh, well stand still little girl. We'll make sure your death is a swift one." The cat demon said leveling his sword at her with a cocky grin. Keiko just tapped the pole on her shoulder lightly as she observed him with calm sharp eyes.

"You're griping that wrong. Your next swing will be wide and off balance. Adjust your grip closer to the middle of the hilt and don't hold onto it so tightly near the middle." She drawled her face impassive and seemingly bored.

Kuronue at least snorted in amusement that Keiko of all people would be telling a powerful youkai how to hold a sword properly. However Bui noticed how she stood. Her frame exuded a calm self confidence that lacked the same cocky swagger the cat had.

The blue haired warrior could tell something was off with this picture.

The cat youkai charged. His swing wide and was in fact off balanced. Keiko shifted her stance only slightly before bringing the pole up.

In one smooth well trained motion Keiko had the blade of the sword dancing along the pole. The sword slipped free of the cat's hand and was sent flying. It landed straight into the heart of another A-class youkai a few feet away observing the confrontation

The others gaped as the youkai fell, but Bui kept his eyes on the human.

He watched as she fluidly shifted her grip on the pole, wielding it like a baseball bat. The cat didn't even have time to defend, as she took advantage of his shock. The pole was swung with incredible speed and force straight into the cat's ribs.

Even from where he was sitting on the ground Bui could hear the distinct sound of breaking bones.

As she finished her swing the cat was sent flying yards away and through a few crates.

Bui watched as she moved with a surprising grace, adjusting her grip once more. The pole was angled perfectly above her head, so it blocked a sudden strike from behind. Another sword was stopped and she already moved to attack.

Swiftly directing the sword in one direction, her foot shot out and rammed straight into her attacker's knee. As this youkai fell, she brought the pole down to swiftly send him sprawled to the ground at her feet. As he gasped having the wind knocked out of him, she brought her foot down hard on his throat.

Even Karasu flinched as they all heard the sound of bones breaking.

The three watched as the high class youkai all fell to the human. She moved with a fluid grace that allowed her to practically dance around her opponents.

Bui could instantly see the trained movements in her dance. Years of training obviously left her more than capable of fighting. In fact most of her moments seemed so ingrained that it would be difficult for even another master fighter to keep up with her.

Once all the opponents were down or dead, Keiko tapped the pole against her shoulder once more with a sigh, shaking her head.

"I don't like fighting."

"That was amazing!" Kuronue said bouncing up onto his feet. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"My parents taught me since I could walk." Keiko said rolling her eyes before turning to the three. "But I don't really like to fight so I don't."

Bui smiled slightly as she helped Karasu get to his feet since the raven was still stunned by her amazing display of skill and power. It was nice to know they didn't have to worry too much about the human with them. Although he admitted he was sorely mistaken by thinking her to be weak.

He accepted Kuronue's help as the bat helped him up.

Keiko yawned, "Can we get going? I have a chemistry test in the morning and we're not even halfway finished."

"Just one question," Bui said getting a raised eyebrow from her. "Why don't you like fighting?"

"I rarely find anyone skilled enough to provide a challenge." Keiko said with a shrug. "Most of the time they just talk up a storm, their movements aren't as controlled as they could be, and they think more power equals a faster win."

"Heh, I bet you could give us some pointers on how to improve our own fighting techniques." Kuronue said with a grin as they made their way to the boat and the rest of the mission.

"There is always room for improvement." Keiko said with a roll of her eyes. "Placing yourself in a safer location while fighting would help."

"I'm not that bad!"

"Yes you are." The other three said as they took off into the night.

Though, Bui made a note to consult with Keiko later. He always searched for ways to improve his fighting technique. It would be a waste not to learn from the powerful and skilled fighter lurking somewhere in the sweet young woman they worked with.


	8. Scared

Scared

She knew she should be terrified of aggravating him. After all despite the fact he has shown an immense patience in the face of stupidity, even he had to have a limit. She licked her lips and tried to suppress the large grin that had graced her face since she heard it.

She had a feeling Inari would be listening to a great deal of curses in the next few hours. Then again this time the Kami might not side with her. If that was the case she would be testing her luck, which after she thought about it, had failed her a time or two.

Taking a deep breath she tried to hold down her amusement. The air rushed from her lungs as well as her ability to control her slight giggle. Inari-sama, have mercy on her twisted soul, and if he's listening, Koenma-sama have mercy as well.

Currently she was tiptoeing down the hall of a house she had been to a few times. It was easy to get in through the backdoor. Not only did he consider her a friend, but he even told her where the spare key was.

The carpet of the hallway muffled her movements, but she knew that only helped were humans were concerned. Her target was definitely not human, even if he tried to act like it. She took another soft breath to control her body, before her fingertips ghosted over the doorknob to his room.

Her night vision goggles worked wonderfully as she carefully began to work setting up things up. She glanced a few times at his sleeping form, but was glad to see him snoring deeply. Or at least as deeply as he'd allow himself, since she knew he didn't snore loudly like Yusuke tended to do.

Several minutes later, the four speakers were safely hidden in the four corners of his room. She timed her steps to his exhales and ghosted out of the room unnoticed. She marveled once again at how relaxed youkai could be when they didn't sense any malicious intent in the air.

She moved to go back down the hall before pausing.

Two doors down stood another innocent looking door. This one though was slightly ajar with the faint glow of a night light illuminating the frame. She weighed her options before giving into the curling urge to add insult to injury.

In for a penny in for a pound, her old friend from America would say.

She gently pushed her way into the room, careful of the slight squeak from the hinges. One day she'd invite herself over during the day and request to use the bathroom. That way she could tell him to oil the hinges without giving away how she knew they were horribly noisy.

Shaking her head she went straight for his shampoo. Grinning almost evilly she pulled out a small plastic vial and dumped the contents into the container. She paused for a brief moment before checking her equipment and rolling her eyes.

She'd have to stop by her storage locker on her way to the temple, but this would be worth it.

A few hours later Keiko was giggling to herself as she entered her home. The look on Kurama's face was so priceless she was glad she hid those cameras. In fact just the memory sent her to her knees in another fit of laughter.

Her laughter paused only briefly at, "YUKIMURA KEIKO!"

She peered up through her watering eyes to see Inari-sama in his golden haired male form towering over her with his hands on his hips. For a brief moment she thought he'd pull out a paper fan and begin to waft some air at his flushed face. The mental image sent her back into hysterics.

"Honestly woman, do you have a death wish?" Inari said narrowing his eyes down at her while she gasped for air.

"I work for you, what did you expect?" She said between giggles.

"Inari-sama, why are you yelling at Keiko-san?" Bui said entering the hallway wearing a neon green leopard print apron over his usual shirt and training paints.

"This little missy is a step away from becoming fox chow." Inari said motioning to Keiko before doing a double take at the apron. "What are you wearing? Don't you know that color clashes with your hair?"

"It was solid red once. Then Kuronue washed it on laundry day." Bui said getting a baffled look from the Kami.

Inari gave an explosive sigh and shook his head. "How did I end up with four almost criminally insane subordinates?"

Bui gave a pause then, "I don't think you would like my answer, Inari-sama." He said simply getting a nod from his superior. "So why are you yelling at Keiko-san again?"

"She has done the unthinkable." Inari said dramatically with a sweeping hand over his eyes. His shoulders slumped as he turned his face heavenward. "And worse of all, she's getting away with it."

"Please," Keiko said her voice low and breathless as she began to regain her composer, "you probably enjoyed it just as much as I did."

"You do realize walking in on that comment when you sound like that is rather intriguing Keiko-chan." Kuronue said from the doorway as he stood there with two brown bags full of groceries.

"I doubt it's what you think, bat, now move. Your ice cream is melting while freezing my arms." Karasu said from behind him also holding an armful of groceries.

"I would but Keiko-chan is currently blocking out way." Kuronue said over his shoulder. Keiko smiled slightly and slid so she was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall.

"Don't trip," she said motioning to her legs.

"You're lucky I'm not wearing a skirt." Kuronue said with a dramatic sniff.

"I'll shoulder my disappointment proudly, Kuronue-chan, for we all know you set fire to your sailor uniform the moment you got your diploma." Keiko said with a mocking half bow from her sitting position.

"Well you are in a playful mood." Kuronue said grinning at her as he passed by.

"I agree." Karasu said before giving her a narrowed eyed look. "Do we want to know why?"

"Eh, I don't have it recorded." Keiko said with a shrug.

"But I do." Inari said holding up a triumphant finger with a winning grin.

"You do?" Keiko said her eyes wide.

"Yes I do. I even have the 'La Cucaracha' incident recorded."

Shock and mild fear crossed Keiko's features swiftly, "You don't."

"I do!" Inari grinned down at her with his hands on his hips. "But it shall remain in my safe keeping for now."

"Trust you to blackmail me later." Keiko said with a pout.

"Of course, I have enough on the whole lot of you to blackmail you into the next century if not longer." Inari said making a show of examining his nails.

Bui cleared his throat.

"Oh yes, so why don't you boys put those groceries away. Keiko-chan, come help me set up the TV. Something tells me they'll want to see this." Inari said waving the boys off towards the kitchen.

"Yes sir," the quartet said before Keio scrambled to her feet and followed him into the living room.

"So you are really going to show them?" Keiko said with a raised eyebrow.

"Only because I know they'll enjoy this. Besides I couldn't stop laughing for the past few hours." Inari said with a grin. "Lucky for them I cut it so they'll only see the best parts. But I have to ask, have you seriously considered the consequences if he ever caught you?"

"I have." Keiko said noticing Inari's look of interest. "Frankly that's why I take such precautions not to get caught."

"Well I'll have you know my kitsune have started a betting pool." Inari said smirking as he sat down on the couch now finished with his self-assigned task.

"What exactly are they betting?" Keiko said eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"How long you can outfox Kurama before he catches on you're the culprit." Inari said with a shrug. "So far no one has lost yet."

"I shudder at their confidence in me." Keiko said giving a dramatic shudder for emphasis.

"Of course you do." Kuronue said coming in with a tray. "Karasu has made us tea."

"What's he trying to poison us with this time?" Keiko said with a smirk.

"Smells like jasmine," Kuronue said setting down the tray.

"Oh good, do you have anything to snack on?" Inari said eyes brightening in delight.

"We have some left over strawberry shortcake and I think sponge cake in the pantry." Keiko said thoughtfully.

"The shortcake is gone," Bui said bringing in another tray of sweets, "but I managed to find some brownies and cookies."

"Perfect," Inari said making the four roll their eyes as they got situated.

"So what are we about to watch?" Karasu said eyeing the blank TV.

"The madness Keiko has been up to today, although I never did figure out why." Inari said eyeing the woman sitting next to him.

Keiko shrugged, "It just struck me out of the blue while listening to songs at a rave."

"You went out and partied without us?" Kuronue said looking scandalized. "How could you? I thought you loved us!"

"I would have taken you, but Inari-sama needed you three to deal with that hanyou the other day. Do you really want me to spend my lonely days wallowing at home in misery?" Keiko said in with a look of mock hurt. "What sort of older brother figure are you?"

"Not a very good one." Karasu said with a nod. "I on the other hand am glad you took an initiative and left the house. Though I do hope you brought along pepper spray for extra protection."

"I never leave home without it, considering you handcuffed it inside my pocketbook." Keiko said getting a smirk from Karasu.

"Good girl," Bui said before raising an eyebrow at Kuronue.

"I suppose I can agree with our resident hippie on this one." Kuronue said dramatically before turning to Keiko. "Am I forgiven?"

Keiko made a show of thinking about it, "Maybe just this once."

"Awe, you're the best Keiko-chan." Kuronue said giving her a big hug.

"Now that family bonding time is over, can we turn our attention to the screen children?" Inari said getting laughs from the four before they agreed. Inari grinned as he pressed play.

They got a good look at Kurama waking up before the electric sound of a keyboard sounded in the room. The red head narrowed his green eyes suspiciously as tried to find the source of the music that seemed to come from all around his room. It wasn't long before his eyes widened and his mouth dropped in shock.

The Fox by Ylvis was blasting through his room rather loudly. Kurama cringed as he listened to the lyrics, but he didn't move to hastily. He obviously remembered the 'Shout' incident from a few weeks previous.

Luckily for Kurama this time there was no immediate prank awaiting him. In fact as he edged out of his room he passed a sensor that shut off the music. Sighing he made his way to the bathroom, only to have the music resume as if it had never stopped.

Keiko giggled as Kurama left the bathroom so annoyed with the repeating song he hadn't even realized his hair was full of glitter just yet. She glanced around to see the boys grinning at the fox's misfortune. But she knew it only got better from there.

For the whole day that song haunted Kurama wherever he went. It was played on the radio. It was played at the café he went to for lunch. It was even blaring the moment he stepped into the temple.

The red head looked ready to kill something or someone. Especially after Kuwabara of all people asked him why there was glitter in his hair. Kurama retreated to the bathroom to deal with the glitter while the vein near his temple was obviously throbbing.

The real kicker came when he was on the streets though. Where ever he turned the song followed him like a nagging elderly woman after he failed to be polite. The real insult was when a street performer dressed up in some furry fox costume started dancing to it.

The boys were laughing by the time Kurama finally lost it. The red head was soon replaced by a very annoyed cursing Youko who retreated to the rooftops to growl at the world. He soon took off for Koenma's office, only to have the song mysteriously begin to play there as well.

Thus began an hour long rant about how a fox doesn't make any of those sorts of noises. In fact Youko was so incised he started to grow a very dangerous jungle in Koenma's office, while still ranting that he never sounded like a dying cat in his life. The Reikai Prince just watched semi-fascinated semi-terrified.

In the end Koenma offered the kitsune a job in Makai hunting down someone smuggling rare plants into Ningenkai. Youko didn't even pause to think about the assignment, instead just left with what few details Koenma could tell him over the music that slowly began to increase in volume to drown out their voices. The kitsune didn't even bother to clean up the mess he had made of Koenma's office either.

With the fox gone, Koenma was left in sudden silence blinking at the room's state. Then for a lack of any other reaction, the toddler began to laugh hysterically. The recording cut off there, but it gave a good enough impression about what had went on the majority of the day.

After the screen went blank, it took the occupants of the room a few long moments to regain their breathing. Keiko and Inari were the first to recover since they already knew what was going to happen. Still it would be a while before Keiko could look at Kurama without a large happy grin.

Needless to say, Kuronue nearly lost it the next time he saw his old partner. In fact the bat could barely say "What do you say?" without cracking up. The sudden violent glare the redhead had given him was worth the chance of death in Kuronue's opinion.


End file.
